


Derailed Plans

by Sohotthateveryonedied



Series: Voltron Hospital AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam is tired, Alternate Universe - Hospital, I wrote this to cure my depression after season seven, Klance too but lowkey, Let’s be real Adam is the functional gay and Shiro is the disaster gay and you can fight me on this, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Shiro is oblivious, nothing says romance like crossword puzzles and brain parasites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-24 17:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15635652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohotthateveryonedied/pseuds/Sohotthateveryonedied
Summary: For the first time in months, Adam and Shiro manage to have a day off at the same time. Taking advantage of the uninterrupted time together, Adam makes some romantic plans just for the two of them, but Shiro's commitment to his work gets in the way.





	Derailed Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Based off yet another episode of Grey's Anatomy because I'm trash. 
> 
> And honestly, I don't care what DreamWorks says regarding Adam's fate and his relationship with Shiro. DreamWorks can go swallow some broken glass for all I care. Adam is alive and well and he and Shiro are going to get married and live a long, happy life together like they deserve. :’)
> 
> As for all the medical lingo, I swear I tried. When I first started writing this fic, I was like, "You know what, I'm actually going to try on this one. I'm going to be factually accurate like an absolute champion." I got through about four Wikipedia pages before I finally gave up and simply copy/pasted some medical stuff that was somewhat relevant to the story. What can I say? I'm a disaster. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> This takes place back when Keith and Lance were still interns, by the way.

Adam fought down a grin as he stood at the kitchen counter, meticulously arranging food on a serving tray. _Today’s the day,_ he thought giddily. He’d prepared two servings of Shiro’s favorite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes with mint ice cream, chocolate-covered strawberries on the side. Not to mention two tall mimosas in the only fancy glasses they owned, and, to top it all off, the morning’s crossword puzzle artfully arranged beside the plates. 

Magnificent, if he did say so himself. If only Gordon Ramsey could see him now. 

“We’ve got the whole day,” he said, loud enough for Shiro to hear from the bedroom, right where he’d left him. “Keith’s at the hospital, we both have the day off, so I think we should make the most of it.” Starting with an expertly crafted breakfast in bed, courtesy of one doting boyfriend. 

Adam arranged a rose on the tray—the final touch—until it was juuust right. “I figure we can enjoy a nice breakfast, do the Sunday crossword together, and then we can go check out that new space museum across town. Maybe even go strolling through the park, watch the sunset at the beach…”

He picked up the tray and turned, only to be stopped right in his tracks.

Shiro, apparently _not_ where Adam had left him, stood in the doorway to their bedroom. Shiro, who had already been informed that today was a stay-in-bed-all-morning morning and was now blatantly breaking that rule. Not to mention the fact that he wore work clothes. _On his day off._

Adam’s eyebrows pulled together. “Hey, hey, hey, wait a second. You’re supposed to be naked.”

Shiro looked apologetic as he fiddled with the knot on his tie. “The hospital called,” he explained, like that excused his fully clothed behavior. “Just admitted a patient who’s been having unexplained seizures, blindness in one eye, and radiculopathy with no idea of what’s causing it.”

“But what about our day off?” It had been difficult enough convincing Allura to let him schedule it so he and Shiro both had a day off at the same time; there was no way he’d be able to do it again. Being two of Altea’s most valuable surgeons had its downsides. 

“I’m sorry, but—” Shiro’s eyes fell upon the breakfast Adam had set up, crossword and all. His lips pressed together in a small frown. “God, I’m so sorry to ruin all this, but I can’t just say no to a patient, and…” His eyebrows lifted hopefully. “I mean, it could be fun? You wanna come?” 

“But…breakfast.”

“We can reheat it later,” Shiro said with a wave of his prosthetic. He moved past Adam, snatching a strawberry from the tray and pecking him on the cheek before going to grab his keys. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” 

And just like that, their once-in-a-blue-moon day off swirled down the drain. Gone.

* * *

Three hours later, and the couple was no closer to recovering what was supposed to be a romantic, relaxing day.

Shiro and Adam were in the MRI viewing room where, on the other side of the glass, Shiro’s newest patient underwent his scan. Shiro was at the computer, far too excited about this than one probably should be. 

Adam, meanwhile, sulked against the wall. 

“Check this out: neurocysticercosis,” Shiro said, grinning. "This guy’s brain is _riddled_ with parasites. I’ve never seen this many in one place before.” He looked over his shoulder at Adam, lips falling into a pout when his partner didn’t share in his enthusiasm. “Oh, what? You don’t find this at least a little interesting?” 

“It’s your day off.” 

Shiro waved a hand. “There will be other days off.” 

Adam snorted. “Oh, yeah? When? This is your first day off in a _month.”_

Shiro’s eyes went back to the monitor. “I know, I know, I don’t know when to take a break. But you know how important my work is to me. You always said you liked that part about me.”

“I made a lunch reservation.”

“We can reschedule.”

“I even brought today’s crossword with me.”

Shiro scoffed. “I think it’ll be okay if we skip the crossword puzzle for one week.”

Adam pushed off the wall and came over. He turned around Shiro’s desk chair so he faced him, his hands on either armrest to block Shiro in. “But this was supposed to be a _special_ day, Takashi. I wanted us to spend some time together outside of this godforsaken building for once. You know, a day without blood and tumors and scalpels. I wanted to spend some quality time with the person I love most.” 

Shiro’s forehead creased. He sighed and pressed a kiss to Adam’s lips. “I know. And believe me, had this been any other case, I would have given it up in a heartbeat to spend the day with you instead.” He turned back around, facing the screen again. “But there will be more special days. Forgive me if I find intracranial parasites a little more interesting than the crossword and chicken fingers.” 

Adam hung his head with a groan, straightening back up and crossing his arms. “I had a plan. We had a day.” 

“Yeah, but—” Shiro gestured to the scans. “Well, look at it! There are cysts all over the left ventricle, subarachnoid space, and even one right up against his optic nerve. You can’t tell me you’re not excited to cut into this.” 

“There’s no reason we can’t push this surgery onto someone else and go back to our day off. You’ve done _more_ than enough brain surgeries to fill whatever quota you’re trying to meet.”

“This isn’t some run of the mill craniotomy, though. This man has _worms_ in his _brain,_ Adam. I’ve never operated on this many at once before.” 

“So? This isn’t one of your movies where the larvae hatch in the brain, leaving the poor host a hallowed-out zombie whose bite will infect the whole population,” he said, waving his hands dramatically. 

Shiro turned around, looking at him oddly. “What movie is that?”

“What?”

“That movie you’re talking about. It’s sounds good.”

“Wha—? Oh, my—” Adam facepalmed. “I made it _up,_ Takashi.” 

Shiro clicked his tongue, disappointed, and spun back around. “Damn.”

“I can’t believe you would rather spend your day with a bunch of parasites instead of your boyfriend.”

“Come on, just because I’m working doesn’t mean we can’t spend time together. Why don’t you scrub in on the surgery with me?” Shiro suggested. “We can extract parasites together like a surgical power couple. That might be romantic.”

Adam arched an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure removing worms from a patient’s body is the exact opposite of romantic.” 

Before Shiro could offer a retort, the door opened. Punctual as ever, in walked Shiro’s best friend Matt. In one hand he carried a small red cooler, which were often used to transport body parts. Yeah, that wasn’t concerning at all. “Hey, check it out, guys. Some dude tried to cut his own foot off in the ER. Wanna see?” 

Shiro perked up, but Adam had more important things to worry about. “Matt, settle a debate for us. If you had a boyfriend who planned out a whole romantic day for the two of you, but you got called in to do a slightly interesting surgery, which one would you choose?”

“Adam, please don’t rope our friends into this—” 

Matt put a hand to his chin, mulling it over. “That depends. Is my theoretical boyfriend really hot, or does he look like a terrible Anakin Skywalker cosplayer?”

Shiro looked up at Adam, scanning him. “Mmm, I'd go with a solid ten out of ten.”

“What kind of romantic day are we talking about? Like a candlelit dinner, or a trip to the aquarium?” 

“Doesn’t matter.”

Matt nodded slowly, tilting his head as he considered it. “I’d probably go with the gay romantic day out. Unless the surgery was, like, really cool.” 

Adam pumped a fist in the air. “Ha!” He wheeled on Shiro. “See? Even Matt agrees with me.” 

Matt looked back and forth between the two of them, realization dawning on him. He held up his hands and took a careful step back. “Wait a minute, did I just walk in on another one of your little marital spats? Because last time this happened you poured maple syrup in my shoes, and these are brand new Jordans.” He gestured to his sneakers. 

“We’re not married,” Adam said at the same time Shiro said, “It was molasses, actually.”

They met eyes, then Adam shook his head. “All I’m saying is that it shouldn’t be so hard to turn down a surgery in favor of doing something _together_. Something that doesn’t take place in an operating room.”

“And we will,” Shiro promised, pressing a button on the monitor and gathering up his charts. He stood up, cupping Adam’s face in his real hand and stroking his jaw with his thumb. “After this surgery.” 

And he walked out of the room, Matt trailing behind him, chattering on and on about what he now called The Emergency Room Massacre. 

Adam sighed. And to think, he and Shiro could have been sitting in a nice restaurant right now, drinking champagne and feeding each other cheesecake. But, such is the life of a surgeon.

* * *

In the operating room later on, things hadn’t improved much. Or at all, really. 

Shiro was working on removing the brain cysts, having a grand old time. In the end, Adam grudgingly made the decision to help out with the one against the optic nerve, since it was either do that or go home alone to sulk. And the latter wasn’t a real option because Shiro drove them both there. 

Keith and Lance had fought tooth and nail for the chance to scrub in on the surgery, and after hours of listening to the pair bicker, Shiro had finally given up and let them both do it. Yet even the two most competitive interns in the hospital seemed to sense the tension in the room, and for once didn’t fill the silence with banter and insults.

Thank God for small blessings. 

Shiro dug around with his intracranial probe, watching the screen where the tiny camera at the end of the tool showed the small operating field. “Damn, the last cyst is clogging half the ventricle. I’m going to have to go with an alternative approach.” He began to pull out the probe, already reaching for his next tool. “Little bastard’s in there good, but no worm is a match for my fury. I’m like a surgical ninja.”

Keith snorted, handing him the curette. “I feel like you’re getting way too into this.” 

“He’s starring in his own sci-fi movie,” Adam said, bitterness bleeding through the sarcasm. “Careful, or he’ll pull out a ray gun and atomize your ass.”

A sigh. “And my wet blanket of a boyfriend here is still pouting,” Shiro said, inclining his head. 

“I’m not _pouting—”_

“You’re a physician,” Shiro said. “Is this really the first time you’ve missed a lunch and the Sunday crossword because of a surgery?”

“Here we go…” Keith muttered under his breath. Lance snickered. 

“It was important to me.”

“Well these parasites are important to me!” Shiro looked ready to go off, but then he paused. His eyes narrowed in concentration, all but forgetting about their argument. “Wait, hang on. I think—” His eyes glued themselves to the screen while he dug around the surgical site carefully. After a second, he grinned. “Ha! Got the little sucker.” He slowly pulled the tool out and dropped it into the tray. “That was the last one on my end.” 

“Well I’m glad you had a fulfilling day,” Adam muttered. 

Shiro groaned. “Seriously? We’re still doing this?” 

“You know, it’s really not a lot to want to spend a nice, romantic day with my boyfriend.” 

“Oh, my—” Shiro shucked off his gloves, glaring all the while. “Fine. You want to do a crossword puzzle? Let’s do the damn crossword puzzle. Someone get me his bag because we’re doing this right now.” 

Adam huffed. “Takashi, just forget it.” 

“Sorry, Adam, I can’t hear you over my _raging_ excitement.” He pulled out the crossword and a pen, settling into a chair a distance from the operating table. 

“And this is why you don’t work with your boyfriend,” Lance sighed. 

Keith shrugged. “I warned them.” 

Shiro crossed his leg over his knee, sitting back. “All right, let’s see. Number one: ‘Part of the body enclosing the brain,’ seven letters.” 

“Dr. Shirogane…” 

“Sorry, honey, I can’t hear you. Too excited about this _very special_ crossword puzzle and not brain surgery, something I've spent my entire medical career studying and specializing in.” He scribbled something down on the crossword. “Cranium, obviously. Boy, I sure am glad I took the time to do this instead of saving lives today.”

“I get it, Takashi, you can stop now.” 

Shiro ignored him. “’A moon orbiting Pluto,’ eight down.” 

“Takashi—”

“Oh, duh, Kerberos.” Shiro clicked his tongue. “This can’t be the Sunday puzzle; this is way too easy.” 

“Stop, Takashi. You’ve made your point.” 

Shiro looked at Adam, feigning dedication. “What? No way, I’m on a roll here. Come on, I thought this was the most important thing in the world to you, babe.” He looked down again. “All right, next one across. ‘My question to you.’” 

“I’m asking you to put it away, Takashi,” Adam said, strained. “Please.” 

“He’s asking nicely,” Lance chimed in. 

“No, because you know why?” Shiro said, pointing his pen accusingly at Adam. “When he doesn’t get his way, he holds it in his cheek like a squirrel with a nut. So we are _doing_ this crossword, or I’m not going to stop hearing about this whole ordeal until we’re sixty. Now, what is ‘my question to you’? Anybody have an idea?”

“How many letters?” Keith asked. 

“Uh…thirteen.”

“Fourteen,” said Adam without looking up. 

Shiro’s brows furrowed. “No, I can see it. It’s thirteen.”

“Actually, it’s fourteen. Count again.”

From across the table, Lance’s eyes slowly widened, having already caught on. Shiro, however, remained caught between confusion and annoyance. “I just counted it myself, and it’s thirteen. What, do you think I can’t see—” 

"Will you marry me?” Adam said suddenly, like the drop of a hammer. His eyes were hard and cold. The room went silent, as though even the monitors were afraid to make a sound. "That's my question to you, Takashi. My question to you that I’ve been waiting to ask all day, a day which I had planned out to the second, all for this one, _stupid_ moment.” 

Shiro lowered his pen. “I— What?” His eyes flickered between Adam and Keith, the latter of whom looked just as surprised as he did. 

Adam clenched his jaw, eyes furiously planted on the task before him. “The reason we had a day off at the same time was because I went to Allura last week and had her schedule it that way. And the reason the crossword was so easy is because I had it made specifically for you. And I know for a fact that there are fourteen letters in that row because _I_ was the one who made it that way. Fourteen. _Will,_ four, _you,_ seven, _marry,_ twelve, _me,_ fourteen.” He looked up, finally, clenching his jaw behind his surgical mask. “My question to you has fourteen goddamn letters.” 

Shiro was frozen, speechless. His mouth opened and closed, floundering for words that never came. 

Adam threw his instruments down onto the table. “I got out the last cyst. Someone close him up. We’re done here.” Tugging off his mask and gloves, he walked out, the door swinging closed behind him.

* * *

Adam sat in the empty attending’s lounge, an untouched soda sitting beside him. His head rested in his hands, his knee bouncing ceaselessly while he berated himself. 

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Stupid him for making such a big fuss about their day, all but _giving_ the surprise away with his obsession. Stupid Takashi for ruining his proposal which took over three months to plan, along with a whole lot of effort in getting that phony crossword puzzle made. Stupid cheesy crossword puzzle which had seemed like a way cuter idea on Pinterest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

In the midst of his mental barrage, he heard a knuckle rap on the open door frame. He looked up, and of course it had to be Shiro standing there, looking like a one-armed Adonis. He was still in scrubs, but this time he bore a red rose pinned to his scrub top. Adam watched wordlessly as he entered the room. He stopped in front of Adam, lowering himself onto his knees so they were at the same level. 

“Propose to me again.”

Adam closed his eyes, leaning back. “Takashi, please just leave me alone. I’m not in the mood.” 

“No.” Shiro gripped Adam’s hands tightly. “Listen, I—I know I screwed up your first proposal, but I promise I won’t screw up this one. Please. Propose to me again.” 

Adam bit the inside of his cheek, but ultimately pulled away. “No, I—” He shook his head. “I can’t. Now all the surprise is gone.”

“So?” 

“I had—I had plans, and I had all these things set up, and—” His hands flopped uselessly in his lap. 

“So?” Shiro placed his hands on Adam’s knees. “Do you still love me?” 

Adam’s eyes softened. “Of course I do.”

“And you still want to be with me forever?” 

“Even longer if I can try.”

Shiro chuckled. “So…” He took Adam’s hands again, and this time he didn’t pull them away. “Ask me.”

Adam rolled his eyes, trying not to snort at the ridiculousness of it. A hospital lounge proposal, both in their scrubs and with all elements of surprise ruined. What a fairytale romance. Yet, somehow, it seemed fitting. Their whole lives had been so disjointed and crazy up until this point; why should their proposal story be any different?

Still, he bit his lip. “I had a whole speech I was going to give, but I left it under my pillow and all I can remember from it is something about stars.”

Shiro’s smile was too adorable to be real. “What else?” 

Adam knew he was blushing now, but he couldn’t tear away from Shiro’s gaze. “I talked about how much I loved you. How I wanted to be with you every second for the rest of our lives, until we’re old and crazy and feeding pigeons on park benches. How I would take on the whole universe just for the chance to be with you for eternity.” 

Shiro hummed. “I like it. The only thing that could make it cheesier is if you added some _to the stars and back_ flair.” 

“I’m sure it was in there somewhere.”

Shiro chuckled again, gleeful eyes boring into Adam’s. “Now all you need to do is ask.” 

“This is really cheesy, you know.”

“Yup.”

“And your ring’s in the car so I can’t even give it to you now.”

Shiro squeezed his hands. “Ask me,” he repeated. 

Adam swore this man was going to be the death of him. But, not being one to back down, he sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders. He took a deep breath. “Takashi Shirogane, my wonderful partner, my greatest love and the only guy I can trust to be the step-father of my cat, will you marry me?” 

Shiro’s smile grew until it was nearly blinding. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Laughing, Adam stood, pulling Shiro up with him. He wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. They had to seperate several times over the course of the kiss because neither could seem to stop smiling. 

Finally they broke away, resting their foreheads together. “I’m still angry with you,” Adam said, ignoring how breathless he was. “Planning that corny crossword proposal took months of wasted effort.” 

Shiro didn’t lose the smile. “Mm-hm.” 

“I mean it. I’m pissed about that.” 

“So pissed you’re going to marry me just to spite me?” His arms tightened around Adam’s waist, pulling him in closer. 

Adam went in for another kiss. “Exactly.”


End file.
